British discus thrower looking to play in NFL

Originally posted by SonocoNinerFan:

Originally posted by Oldschool9erfan:
If you are an old timer.......we had a guy Jeff Stover that tried out for our team. He was 6 6 275 and he ran a 4.6. He was a really
good player for us and may have had 10 sacks one year.

We have a great coaching staff look what they did with Bruce Miiller. Why not take a late rounder on him.

I believe he'd be a free agent.

he's eligible to be drafted

he's a beast and would likely win a gold at some point if he stayed in athletics. Should have got a medal in 2012 but nerves got the better of him in the final.

it's a helluva long shot but would love us to take a chance on him,

Buzz is building . . .

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/07/british-discus-thrower-puts-on-a-show-at-regional-combine/

He's young, would probably need to learn a lot about technique. I know people like to compare rugby and American football, but they are really different sports.

Jesus, 304 pounds and ran sub 4.8-4.9 40s... Definitely willing to part with a comp 7th round pick for an Olympic caliber athlete.

I wouldn't give up anything higher than a 7th. I am from London and have read some reports (can't remember where, but will try and dig them up), that worry me about his motivation. By all means he is intelligent (got into Oxford), but he tried Rugby, that didn't stick right away, then discuss and now Football.

This is purely speculation, but - It seems growing up he excelled at any sport due to his athelticism, now he will have to start from scratch, going up against guys who whilst maybe not quite as athetically gifted are certainly a match for him due to their experience. I am a little worried about his commitment as his past hopping between sports might indicate a lack of dedication

Originally posted by kunged:
I wouldn't give up anything higher than a 7th. I am from London and have read some reports (can't remember where, but will try and dig them up), that worry me about his motivation. By all means he is intelligent (got into Oxford), but he tried Rugby, that didn't stick right away, then discuss and now Football.

This is purely speculation, but - It seems growing up he excelled at any sport due to his athelticism, now he will have to start from scratch, going up against guys who whilst maybe not quite as athetically gifted are certainly a match for him due to their experience. I am a little worried about his commitment as his past hopping between sports might indicate a lack of dedication

I doubt many organizations have him valued much higher than that if at all. Its been proven time and time again that good athletes don't always make good football players. Not saying he can't be a good or even great player but the deck is not stacked in his favor at this point.

Even if the 49ers don't have a high value placed on him they should leak their interest in him to the media somehow. That way we can all expect Seattle to draft him in the second round.

Originally posted by NinerG94:

Originally posted by kunged:
I wouldn't give up anything higher than a 7th. I am from London and have read some reports (can't remember where, but will try and dig them up), that worry me about his motivation. By all means he is intelligent (got into Oxford), but he tried Rugby, that didn't stick right away, then discuss and now Football.

This is purely speculation, but - It seems growing up he excelled at any sport due to his athelticism, now he will have to start from scratch, going up against guys who whilst maybe not quite as athetically gifted are certainly a match for him due to their experience. I am a little worried about his commitment as his past hopping between sports might indicate a lack of dedication

I doubt many organizations have him valued much higher than that if at all. Its been proven time and time again that good athletes don't always make good football players. Not saying he can't be a good or even great player but the deck is not stacked in his favor at this point.

Even if the 49ers don't have a high value placed on him they should leak their interest in him to the media somehow. That way we can all expect Seattle to draft him in the second round.

Haha, love this part.

Yeah, now that Al Davis is gone the chances of him getting drafted anywhere higher than there have dimished dramatically.

To be honest, I struggle to think he is worth a draft pick at all. From his perspective he would probably earn more from the rookie minimum contract than he would playing rugby for 10 years so I can see why trying to use your athletic ability to get paid is attractive.

Having said that if anyone can turn him into a contributer Tomsula can, ideally we just try him out as a UDFA; it seems we aren't afraid to pay more than other teams for UDFAs

Originally posted by 5280High:
Jesus, 304 pounds and ran sub 4.8-4.9 40s... Definitely willing to part with a comp 7th round pick for an Olympic caliber athlete.

This.


Ziggy Ansah hadn't even considered playing football until 3 years ago and now he's almost a lock as a top-15 pick. JPP played 2 years of community college football and a single season of D-1 ball, was still picked in the first round. If it took a few years for these guys to harness their freakish athletic talents to the point of being high draft picks (even if they were still considered very, very raw) there's no reason to think this guy can't make a similar transition under the superior coaching of the best DLine coach in football. A compensatory pick seventh rounder would be well worth the price just to get this guy in camp. From a body type/measurable perspective this guy was basically built to play DE in a 3-4.

Originally posted by Oldschool9erfan:
If you are an old timer.......we had a guy Jeff Stover that tried out for our team. He was 6 6 275 and he ran a 4.6. He was a really
good player for us and may have had 10 sacks one year.

We have a great coaching staff look what they did with Bruce Miiller. Why not take a late rounder on him.

Michael Carter also had a similar background though he did play college pointy (English for American football).

It could take him a couple years just to develop technique... you dont just jump into the trenches and play. I think positions like RB and WR are much easier to transition to, they are more instinctual. Playing D-line you have to practice leverage, swim moves, spin moves, twists, stunts, etc until it feels natural. I'd take him in the 6th round at best. Simply because of the amount of time you'd spend developing him. Playing rugby, i'd say the only thing he's knows how to do is tackle low. He could be a BEASTLY fullback in the jumbo formation though.

Originally posted by modninerfan:
It could take him a couple years just to develop technique... you dont just jump into the trenches and play. I think positions like RB and WR are much easier to transition to, they are more instinctual. Playing D-line you have to practice leverage, swim moves, spin moves, twists, stunts, etc until it feels natural. I'd take him in the 6th round at best. Simply because of the amount of time you'd spend developing him. Playing rugby, i'd say the only thing he's knows how to do is tackle low. He could be a BEASTLY fullback in the jumbo formation though.

some people have more of a natural flair for it than others and at 21 he has time to learn. If any team can take a pot shot of a pick it's us.

Sign him specifically to end Russell Wilson's idiotic career...afterwards knight him.

Probably wants to play QB

hopefully no one snags this guy so we can get him after draft and place him on practice squad... if he learns quick and exceeds expectations then maybe he gets a spot on the roster.